Status der Enthornungspraxis in ökologisch wirtschaftenden Milchviehbetrieben in Niedersachsen

Summary

In 2011 a survey was carried out in order to find out how many cows are dehorned on organic dairy farms in Lower Saxony. Furthermore the farmers’ reasons for dehorning as well as their willingness to stop polling calves were investigated. All organic dairy farms in Lower Saxony were interviewed by a questionnaire based telephone interview. Interviews were conducted with 92 farms, seven of these farms with tied housing (not further considered) and 85 of these farms with loose housing. Nearly all dairy cows on surveyed farms (Median = 100 %) were polled. In 58 organic dairy herds more than 90 % and in 16 herds less than 50 % of cows were dehorned. The main reasons for dehorning that were mentioned by the farmers were fear of injuries to animals (95 %), farmers (84 %) or family members (48 %). Several farmers could see reasons for not dehorning: Many farmers (40 %) said that horns belong to the essence of the cow and some (15 %) mentioned keeping cows with horns would save time and effort of dehorning.